Awesomeness

This is definitely one of the coolest home design items I have seen in a long time.

Ceiling treatment for the wall

I have FINALLY come up with a design element I want in my bathroom: a wainscot made from tin ceiling tiles. It will be awesome!

Ragtime

Michealangelo Pistoletto – Venus of the Rags

I really need a new rug for the kitchen. Buying a new rug is definitely not in the budget. Being a seamstress, I have tons of fabric scraps, and being a mom of boys, I have plenty of clothes that are too worn out to donate... so, I think I'll be making my own rag rug! This seems like an especially good way to use old sheets. Also, one made of old towels would be great for a bath mat!

Bathrooms... again

Bubblicious

Bath products are expensive and most of them are filled with harmful chemical fragrances and skin-irritating detergents.

Well, there is good news! You can make your own from all-natural ingredients and it won't cost much at all! These make EXCELLENT gifts, too!

From Apartment Therapy:

What You Need

Materials:
4 cups of Water
4 oz Castille Soap (like Dr. Bronner's which you can buy scented or unscented and it's totally green and can be used for cleaning around the house and your body)
3 oz of either Glycerin* or Coconut Oil (both lather well and are skin softeners)
Essential Oil (use your imagination to come up with fun and exciting combos!)
Container for your concoction (non glass is best for near the bath)
Bath Tub

(you can also add a couple-- and I really do mean just a couple, because too many could stain the bathtub-- drops of food coloring to the mix to make the bubble bath just a little more fun)

*Glycerin is any pure soap, normally a transparent bar, made without synthetic detergents. You can buy it online or sometimes at the drugstore. Pure vegetable glycerin is usually available at Whole Foods Market. If you buy drugstore or craft store glycerin, be aware that it is likely petroleum based.

Instructions

1. Mix water with castille and glycerin or coconut oil.

2. Add 4-5 drops of your choice of essential oil.

3. Mix well.

4. Pour your bubble bath into the container. It should keep for quite a while.

5. Fill bathtub with water and pour in a couple of ounces of bubble bath.

6. Take a deep breath and soak.

Bathroom space savers

Since I am pretty sure we have the smallest bathroom outside of an airplane, I am very keen on finding clever space savers that look chic.

I'm really liking this towel bar/shower curtain rod,

This is a simple and narrow storage option:

This piece would give us more space to store our toiletries as well as a space to hang some towels:


I've also always liked these swing-arm towel bars:

Playful bathrooms

A friend of my mother's was recently in her homeland of the Netherlands, and she gave her this item upon her return. It really got me thinking about a few things... 1) how in the heck do you use it? (we brainstormed and got it figured out) and 2) wow, it is really time to do something about my bathroom!!

I don't want to do too much... no changing fixtures or anything, because I know someday we will make the bathroom bigger and then I can do a big overhaul. But I need to do something for the interim to spice it up and make it a bit more pleasant. As much as I long for a chic spa-inspired bathroom where I can languish for hours in hot bubbles watching Oprah or reading Jane Austen, I have to come to terms with the fact that my life just isn't like that. I haven't taken a bubble bath in more than four years and it would be a little tough with "Bathtime Buzz" staring me in the face anyway. I share a tiny bathroom with a grown man and two four-year-old boys. So, I've decided I want the bathroom to be a fun place that gets us energized in the morning and won't look silly with a few rubber duckies strewn about.

I could definitely paint the vinyl linoleum in the bathroom to replicate this look:

There is definitely something that is simultaneously fun and classic in this look:

"Raindrops keep fallin' on my head" is a much more pleasant thought when the raindrops are rainbow-colored:

Although I can't fit this in now, someday I would love to have a little toilet nook in the bathroom:

Happy April Fools!

Hammered

If I ever get a chance to redo the bathroom in what we hope will be our new house, I say "yes" and "yes" to the hammered copper sink and tub from Fine Crafts Imports. The best news is that they are just up the road apiece in Camarillo, California! (Saves a lot on shipping a 164 lb. tub).

easy being green

ummmm...... yes to just about everything they sell at greenbuildingsupply.com

The bathroom

As soon as we get a house, I'm getting this picture for the bathroom.

I want our bathroom to be sophisticated, but I don't want it to be too fancy. It will have to be uber functional, given that the little ones tramp in and out and splash around in the bath (when they agree to a bath that is). And (hopefully soon?) they will be potty training... so our bathroom will be very much a family bathroom.

I stumbled on some bird bath images and really fell in love with the idea. It is fun and whimsical without being too childish and it is "bath" themed without being about a "bath".

Now I just need a bathroom to put this in!

picture from Lucia Johnson's etsy shop